Ramona and the Mirror of Erised
by SamanthaEline
Summary: ON HOLD! Set in HP's first year. Ramona is an orphan and is treated very badly at the orphanage, because of her extraordinary powers. Her letter from Hogwarts is her only hope. Translated from Dutch.
1. Tommy the Supermouse

Yeah! My first chapter translated!   
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world isn't mine, but Ramona is!! hands off! ;)  
  
many, many, many thanks to my bèta reader Eleanor Larathiel. Without her I would never have tried to translate my story let alone post it. Tanks!!!

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CHAPTER ONE  
TOMMY THE SUPERMOUSE

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Outside the sun is shining. The birds are singing, leaves rustle in the warm breeze and a little rabbit nibbles at the green grass. Inside, I look out of the window. I wish I could be out there. But no, that's not possible. Gregor has been in a foul mood today and has locked all the doors.  
But then, name a time he's not in a foul mood.   
He's always blunt and mean to me. Even more blunt then to the rest of the children at the orphanage 'Children's Best Friend'.  
Yes, it's called 'Children's Best Friend'. Well, it's not that child friendly in here. It's dark, uncomfortable and has not a trace of technology in the rooms we're allowed in.  
For once I wish that I, like the rest of the school, could watch the cartoons that everyone else is watching.   
Gregor has a television, but we are not allowed to touch it, let alone watch it.   
Thankfully the school has a television so I am able to watch a bit of it.   
Going at school is the best time of the day. Even if I don't have any friends. Even if they all think I'm a weirdo. I don't care. I don't need friends. I don't.  
  
I hear laughter and patter of feet behind me. Gregor is gone for just a little while and the other kids are playing catch.  
Inside the house!  
I hear Anya's scream and the breaking of glass. At once everything goes silent.  
Distracted from the peaceful outside world, I turn around.  
The beautiful vase, the only beautiful thing in the house, had fallen off the little round table standing in the centre of the room. It was lying in pieces on the ground.  
I turned around again.  
I don't care.  
They would blame me.  
As usual.  
They blamed me for everything. Always. Just because I'm the so-called eldest. Well, that's just nonsense. Stupid children. Always ruining my day. Sometimes I think they do it all on purpose.  
Slowly I feel my anger rising and I send a really furious thought to the children behind me. Especially to Anya and Thomas. The children look up terrified.  
They act as if they don't know where that feeling came from and the youngest, I thinks she's five, starts to cry.  
"You know you're not allowed to do that!" Mariecke screams at me finally realizing it's me.  
I shrug.  
"I'm going to tell, I'm going to tell Gregor." Another screams and I hear hurried footsteps leave the room.  
I sigh.  
I'm going to tell, I'm going to tell! Stupid little telltales.  
I hear a door being closed. The front door. Gregor is back.  
Suddenly I get scared. What could a ten year old girl do against an angry grown-up?  
Little footsteps run to the door and I 'feel' hostile thoughts coming from the mind of the person behind the door. I hear heavy footsteps and the door gets slammed open.  
I keep my eyes on the little rabbit outside the window.  
A snarl makes the children run upstairs, laughing and screaming.  
The feelings from the man behind me are indescribable. What is that, that feeling. Every time I 'felt' it. A kind of hatred, but sometimes it almost felt as fear.  
I try to read his mind.  
"Don't you think about that!" He hisses and my stomach lurched. "I know all about your filthy little tricks."  
Quietly he closes the door.  
What's he doing?  
Confused I try to understand some of the feelings of this man. I can't make anything of it. He never acts like this. Usually he grabs me, hits me and locks me in the broom closet.  
Slowly he comes near my unprotected back. I hear the fragments of the broken vase crack beneath his shoes. He stands behind my back. With a 'smack' something falls on the floor. Something made out of paper.  
"This has to be you, it has to be." He says. "But how do they know your address? Who did you gave our address? Who have you been talking to?" He bellows.  
My curiosity conquers my fear as I see a big yellowish envelope land on the floor beside me.  
'What's that?' I ask him.  
Suddenly he grabs my hair and pulls my head so he can look in my eyes.  
"Talk! Talk godcensoreded!" He yells in my face.  
With tears in my eyes I give him a puzzled look.  
What does he mean? He always says that, but I talk, don't I? But if he means that stuff with your mouth… I don't know if I can do that again. I've done it, but that was a really long time ago.  
'I don't know how.' I say, scared.  
Gregor curses and drags me straight ahead, gives me a smack in my face and I feel how I'm being thrown into a corner. I crash hard against the wall and frightened I make a ball of myself.  
"It always goes like this. What am I to do with you if I can't talk with you normally. How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my head!" He says more desperate than angry.  
'But I'm not doing anything.'  
He curses, but he ignores it. It's like he remembers something and he kicks the strange letter in my direction.  
"I know you want to get out of here, but by this? Did you really think I would fall for this kind of crap?"  
I look at the letter through my tears and see, without surprise, that it has been opened.  
I don't dare to take it.  
"Well?" He asks fiercely.  
I don't speak and only look at him in horror, still a bit in shock from my encounter with the wall.  
He walks up to me again and grabs my arm. I'm able to seize the letter just before he drags me down the corridor in the direction of the broom closet, opens the door and locks the door behind me.  
"This time it's for the rest of the summer vacation you black haired witch." He yells. "And no food!"  
  
I'm in the dark.  
Again.  
Quietly I begin to cry.  
This time was worse than all those other times together.  
He had never acted like this.  
He had never dared to touch me like he had just done.  
I had always felt a bit of fear coming from him and that always had given me the strength to hold on.  
But now…  
That fear hadn't been there and I start crying harder.  
Gregor bangs the door hard and yells: "Shut up!"  
I try to muffle my sobbing by folding myself up like a ball.  
Slowly I fall asleep from exhaustion.  
--------------------------------

I suddenly wake.  
Something is calling me.  
What's that?  
With my mind I search the little lawn before the house and the corridor behind the door, searching the strange call I'm 'feeling'.  
There I find someone.  
I know this one.  
It's one of the mice from the cellar.  
I named him Tommy.  
We often held conversations.  
Simple ones, like mice do.  
'I'm here.' I let him know.  
I feel that there are a lot of other mice with him.  
'You are good?' I hear him say.  
'Yes, I am alright. What are you doing?' I ask, because I taste something quite horrible in my mouth.  
Actually it is his mouth, but I when am like this, we share our senses.  
'Break wall.'  
'Why?' I ask surprised.  
'Help you.' I hear his squeaky little voice say. 'You dark, I light. I bring light.'  
'I understand, thank you.' I said and pull back.  
The taste in my mouth is gone at once. Thank God.  
Tommy is trying to make a hole for me.  
Dear friend.  
I send a feeling with love his way, but not too direct so that the other mice can feel it too so they know I'm very grateful.  
Wait a minute, if he's bringing light, I can read my letter!  
This letter is important.  
I don't know why, but it is important. I feel it.  
Maybe it's my only way out of this stupid orphanage.  
In the dark I feel the heavy paper is a bit cringed.  
It really is a heavy letter.  
Curiously I hold the letter close to my face. Hoping to be able to read just a bit.  
I can see a little bit.  
My eyes are a bit adapted to the dark and thanks to a little ray of light – well, not really light, a streak less dark is better said.  
So thanks to that little streak of just that one bit lighter dark, I can see my name on the letter.  
My name!  
Nobody knows my name.  
Well, I do have a name, but it's so stupid.  
Not even mine.  
They called me Neelte.  
Neelte!  
Neelte Tromp, like Gregor Tromp.  
I had given myself a much better name.  
Altough it made no sense.  
At school they called me Neelte, but I just don't respond to it.  
Besides, they don't speak to me that much.  
But how could those people who had send me this letter, know the name I've given myself?  
Yet, it says very clearly:

Ramona Moonlight,  
The attic,  
Children's Best Friend,  
Starstreet 669,  
8745 London

Very accurate, 'the attic'.  
I can't wait to read the letter and I wait strained until I see a little light appear.  
Impatiently I make contact with Tommy.  
'Almost.' He says and I almost explode out of anxiety.  
Is that a light?  
Yes!  
I feel little crumbles falling on my bare legs and see a little hole appear, a hole that slowly gets bigger.  
Bright sunlight shines through a little round hole and I feel a bit of fresh air.  
'Tommy!' I call happily and feel him landing on my shoulder.  
'What that?' He asks.  
'A letter. For me.' I tell him cheerfully. 'Now I can read it, thanks to you.'  
And I take immediate action and open the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Cless, Grand Sorc., Chef. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Dear Ms. Moonlight,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

There is indeed another letter in the envelope.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
Uniform  
  
First-year students will require  
- 1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
- 2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
- 3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
- 4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags  
  
Set Books  
  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
- The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
- A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
- Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
- A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
- One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
- Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jugger  
- The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
- The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble  
  
Other Equipment  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

What IS this?  
Could this be true?  
I feel my heart leap up while I read the letter.  
Is this really true?  
I take a look at Tommy.  
I read the letter again.  
O no, what day is today?  
31st of July!  
I'm too late.  
That jerk kept my letter that long?  
But that's not my only big problem.  
How could I let them that I don't know where to get all this stuff, how would I be able to send them a letter while I'm locked in here and above all, I have no money.  
I do some quick thinking and look at Tommy.  
'Tommy, would you like to do something for me?' I ask him.  
'Do what?'  
'May I use your body for just a little while?'  
I know how to do it, I've done it before.  
I also know that Tommy doesn't like it, but it's the only way to send a letter to McGonagall.  
I sent Tommy a thought of all the troubles in my head and he agrees.  
I place him back at the opening of the hole and close my eyes.  
Now relax and concentrate on being a mouse.

I open my eyes and see myself.  
Now I'm a mouse.  
Let's go.  
I need a pen and paper.  
I hope Misty is off somewhere, sleeping.  
If she's hungry I won't be able to fend her off.  
I don't smell her, that's something.  
I bet she's upstairs.  
Now I'm crawling through the huge corridor heading for the kitchen.  
Drawer.  
Drawer, drawer, drawer, I have to get inside the drawer.  
Impatiently I run to the kitchen and to my relief I see that the drawer open.  
Thanks to my really small, but sharp nails and the loose wallpaper I'm able to reach the kitchen sink.  
I hold still and listen to the noises around me  
Above me the children are continuing their wild games.  
Voices come from Gregor's room.  
He's watching television.  
I crawl to the drawer and I succeed in pushing myself through the narrow opening.  
There are the things I need.  
Then suddenly, I hear from a little part of my brain a stale peep.  
'I'm sorry, Tommy. Not long.'  
I can't keep this up for too long. When I use some-one's body for too long, it dies. So I speed up a little.  
I take the pen in my mouth and push it trough the opening. The paper follows quickly.  
I see a little matchbox which I can use to get out of the drawer and with a lot of effort I'm out of the drawer again.  
But what to do now? How do I get down again. It's pretty high.  
I search through the little brain of the mouse for experience and I find it to my relief.  
I admire the little mouse while I use the tattered wallpaper to get down again.  
'Tommy the Supermouse.' I think amused.  
On the ground again, I run with he pen and paper and begin dragging the pen towards the corridor. I haven't got much speed walking vice-versa and the pen is heavier that I thought it would be, but little by little I come closer to the broom closet and I try to push the pen through the crack under the door.  
I doesn't fit and I sigh.  
I'm beginning to realise that it's time for me to give the body back to Tommy.  
He can do this mission without my help, I'm sure of it.  
I close my eyes and end the contact.  
When I open my eyes, it's dark again.  
They have to adjust again.  
Behind the door I 'feel' how Tommy regains consciousness and understands my mission.  
I 'feel' how he grabs the pen and drags it outside to the hole in the wall and I feel something how it falls on my legs.  
'Thanks dear friend.' I say. 'Paper.'  
He understands and I 'feel' him run back to the kitchen.  
A bit later I see something coming from under the door – the paper.  
I smile.  
'Thank you so much Tommy, you saved my life.' I say. 'Er… do you know an owl?' I ask because I remember the letter saying something about answering by owl. Don't ask me why, but it sounded really normal to me. But as I ask, I remember something.  
Owls eat mice.  
I can 'feel' the panic rise on the other side of the door and I try to calm him down. Eventually I succeed, but not fully, because I can still hear him say: 'Owl, owl, owl, cat the same.' And slowly he crawls back to his family in the basement.  
'Owl, cat the same.'  
I repeat what Tommy said to myself and I get an idea.  
Now I have to find that cat.  
With my mind I search the house.  
I 'feel' a few children's thoughts and move quickly before they can notice it.  
I was right. That stupid cat is sleeping at the attic.  
With luring thoughts I try to get her to get up.  
'Come.' I say.  
'Why?' She asks while she stretches extensive.  
Cats, always have a mind of their own.  
I think irritated.  
If I knew any people outside this house, I could just ask them to come and rescue me. But I can't count on those stupid people from school.  
'Please Misty, I helped you dozens of times, haven't I?' I beg her. 'Can you remember that time when you had a tick? And that other time Gregor kicked you milk bowl and refused to give you fresh milk?'  
I could feel the aversion, but also a kind of submission coming from the cat.  
'How can I help you?' She asks finally.  
'Find me an owl.' I say straightforward, because I know she hates it when I beat about the bush.  
'Owl? An owl would be nice.' I hear her say while licking her lips.  
'No Misty, not for dinner. He has to deliver a letter for me.'  
'Deliver? O yes, Those delicious creatures do that, but I could do that for you too.'  
I 'feel' a kind of triumph coming from the big cat while she descents the stairs.  
I am surprised.  
I don't know the cat very well.  
Now as well as the mouse and I can't really picture her wanting to do something for me.  
Because she is more intelligent than the mouse I never thought I was able to push her to do something for me so I never asked.  
Also, I haven't been able to take over her body.  
She would never let me and I respect her privacy.  
'Would you really do that for me?'  
'Well, it depends. What do I have to do exactly?'  
'Well, I got this letter. A really strange letter.' I tell her and I 'feel' the interest coming from the cat now sitting on the other side of the door.  
'Letter?'  
'Yes, a letter from a school called Hogwarts. They expect me to reply, but I have so many questions and I am late to reply already. Will you do it?'  
I can 'feel' her agreeing. 'I know the location of Hogwarts and I know someone I can give the letter to, but I expect something from you in return.'  
'What? What do I have to do. I'll do anything.'  
'You have to take me with you. To Hogwarts.' She says.  
I can see no problems there. I can take her. The letter even says I'm allowed to bring a cat. Yes, why not.  
'Allright, you can come with me.'  
'Great. Now where's that letter?'  
'Well, I still have to write it.'  
'Take your time. I'll be upstairs if you need me.' She says and I 'feel' her leaving and I break contact.  
Right. What shall I write?

Dear Mrs McGonagall,  
  
I was very pleased when I received your letter.

That's a good start. I suck in the end of my pen and think hard on how to continue. It has to be right the first time. I only have one piece of paper.

Dear Mrs McGonagall,  
  
I was very pleased when I received your letter. I only  
have so many questions, but there is no-one here who  
is able to clear things up for me. None of the people  
I know, know of Hogwarts and I don't know where I  
can find all the things I need to attend Hogwarts. Moreover,  
I don't have any money. I really would love to attend your school as soon as possible, but I don't have any belongings and don't know how to pay you. Unfortunately  
this is not my only problem.  
  
I also send you this letter because I need your help. As  
You might know, I live at the orphanage 'Child's Best Friend'.  
But the thing you don't know is the fact that our new 'father'  
isn't really child's best friend. He thinks that the things I can  
do that make me qualified to attend Hogwarts areabnormal  
and treats me really badly. At the moment I'm locked  
in the broom closet and I can't get out to send you my letter.  
Fortunately I do have some friends. My friend Tommy, a  
mouse, helped me get this piece of paper and this pen  
to send you this cry for help. My friend Misty, a cat, promised  
me to deliver this letter and I have no other choice than  
to trust her with my only hope to get out of this orphanage.  
I ask you, no, I beg you to help me and get me out of this  
house, so I might be able to attend Hogwarts, in spite of  
all my other problems. I am really sorry I reply late,  
but my 'father' with held this letter from me and I only got to  
read it this morning.  
  
Thank you for all your help,  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Ramona Moonlight  
  
PS. I think he really meant it when he said I would be  
locked up without food the whole summer.

I reread the letter and I'm pleased.  
Especially the dramatic PS.  
That should get there attention.  
Carefully I search the house for Misty and call her.  
She is quickly downstairs.  
I fold the letter and push it under the door.  
Strangely she doesn't move.  
'What are you doing?' I ask her.  
'I'm reading the letter. I think I have the right to do so.'  
'You can read?' I ask amazed.  
'Yes, I can.' She says full of pride. 'and I can see this is a very good letter that will get their attention. I will deliver it.'  
'Good luck.' I say.  
The only thing I can do now is wait.  
Wait for help.  
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And? What do you think! Please review!!


	2. My saviour

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world isn't mine, but I use it to create my own character. Ramona is mine!   
  
Eleanor Larathiel - Thanks for bèta reading, reading it again and reviewing! By the way, my name is Eline. I took Ramona from this story. She's my first creation.   
  
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CHAPTER TWO  
  
My saviour  
  
------------------------ -------------------- ----------------  
  
Luckily, thanks to the small hole in the wall, I can still get a breath of fresh air every now and then.   
  
It's so hot and stuffy in here!  
  
I keep very quiet.  
  
Gregor had discovered it.   
  
He has discovered that I had taken the letter.   
  
Well, he can't have discovered everything, after all he doesn't believe the letter is real so he doesn't know that I answered it.  
  
He did discover that a pen and a piece of paper were missing from the kitchen-drawer.  
  
He thinks, quite truly, that I called for help from Misty.  
  
She hasn't shown her pretty red and white body round the house for over a week.  
  
At least, I think it's a week.  
  
I can hardly count the days.  
  
I think he really isn't planning to let me out, he was so furious.  
  
I'm so hungry, no I'm starving. Hungry would be an understatement.  
  
Although he doesn't really mean he won't give me food, this really comes close.  
  
The last time I got some food was a really dry stiff bit of bread.   
  
I'm dying for something warm to fill my tummy.  
  
I feel so weak.  
  
Half of the time I'm asleep, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.   
  
-------------- -------------- ---------------  
  
I hear screaming in the corridor, and crack my eyes open.  
  
What's happening?  
  
Did I fall asleep again?  
  
Everything's foggy.  
  
I can hardly keep my eyes open and unwillingly close them again.  
  
Without noticing I fall asleep again.  
  
-------------- --------------- --------------  
  
I open my eyes.  
  
A bright light blinds me temporarily, and I shut my eyes once more.   
  
The door is open.  
  
What?  
  
Oh, it's Gregor.  
  
I bet he came to see if I'm still breathing.   
  
He wouldn't care if I died, just too much paperwork. Easier if he kept me alive.  
  
I hear him growl as he sets something on the ground.  
  
I smell something, something nice, with a nice strong aroma of onions… I smell soup!  
  
I open my eyes again and reach out feeble with my weak hands for the bowl.  
  
The door closes and it's dark again.  
  
I succeed to grasp the bowl and with a last great effort get myself to sit straight and drink the soup.  
  
Black spots appear and it becomes dark in front of my eyes.  
  
Darker than the darkness around me, dark inside my head.  
  
I pass out.  
  
--------------- ---------------- ---------------  
  
I feel something.  
  
Not physical, but I 'feel' a presence.  
  
A very strong one.  
  
I can't get my eyes to open.  
  
I'm so tired I can't concentrate on the presence.  
  
A door opens.  
  
The front door?  
  
A voice I don't recognise.  
  
Then the angry voice of Gregor.  
  
God, my head hurts.  
  
What's happening?  
  
I hear thud as someone falls and curses colourfully.  
  
Gregor.  
  
Then it's suddenly everything goes silent.  
  
Something rattling.  
  
Keys?  
  
I believe the door is being opened.  
  
Yes, I can feel light through my closed eyes and I try to open them.  
  
I can see something.  
  
I see a pair of shoes, black, shiny ones.  
  
A long cloak hanging on the floor and I hear a low voice cursing.  
  
The strange man – his voice is masculine – picks me up.  
  
"Are you awake?" He asks. "Holy Merlin, what has he done to you?"  
  
He mumbles while he carries me out of the house into the sharp sunlight.  
  
It's so bright!  
  
I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head towards the chest of the man.  
  
He smells strange.  
  
The man places me on the backseat of a car and touches my forehead.   
  
He places a small pillow beneath my head and covers me with his large cloak.  
  
I fall asleep again underneath that warm cloak and I don't even feel us drive off.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Where am I?  
  
Slowly I open my eyes.  
  
I'm lying in a large bed.  
  
A really comfy one by the feel of it.  
  
I hear something rustling and turn my head.  
  
Someone is sitting on a chair with his back towards me.  
  
I think that's my saviour.   
  
Now I can take a good look at him.  
  
Well, at least his back.  
  
He's sitting on a chair and wears a black cloak.  
  
His hair is half-long and greasy.  
  
There's a bog owl sitting besides him on a stick in front of an open window.  
  
He's opening something.  
  
The wrapping of the package in his hands is from the same heavy parchment as my letter.  
  
'What is that?' I ask after having hesitated and as expected my head hurts.  
  
I see him looking up from the package, startled.  
  
I 'feel' his confusion but it disappears when he turns around and looks at me.  
  
I see a pair of black, tunnel-like eyes and a big crooked nose.  
  
That kind of nose would make anyone else very ugly, but it fits him.  
  
"Was that you?" He asks dangerously with a soft, silky voice.  
  
I nod.  
  
"Don't do that again."   
  
I have heard that so many times and I react startled.  
  
Usually Gregor would step up to me and give me a smack.  
  
Would this man do that too?  
  
He does look really serious, as if he has never laughed.  
  
But his eyes are now full of remorse and I think he wouldn't slap me.  
  
"You really don't have to be scared like that. I won't hurt you." He says softly and seats himself on the bed.  
  
"Here, drink this." He says and gives me a glass with a colourless liquid and strange smell.  
  
I look at it in disgust.  
  
'What is it?'   
  
"It will help you get better." He answers.  
  
'Right.' I say and I try not to taste the liquid, only drink it.  
  
I feel it surging through my body, giving me energy.  
  
I smile.  
  
He takes the glass and puts it away after cleaning.  
  
He walks back to the desk and shows me what he was unwrapping.  
  
It looks like a hair band.  
  
He sits with me again and looks into my eyes.  
  
Hurriedly I look away.  
  
When some-one looks into my eyes from that close, I often loose control of my powers and know in just a few seconds his whole life.  
  
What he thinks, thought, feels and felt, everything he knows, I know.  
  
I don't want to do that to my saviour.  
  
Moreover, I will hurt him when I loose control like that, just like myself.  
  
"They informed me of your powers." He says icy while he helps me into sitting-position and placing the pillows in my back.  
  
"This headband," I look at the green headband in his hands, "will suppress them."  
  
I take it hesitantly.  
  
My saviour walks to the owl and takes out strange looking money.  
  
Apparently to pay the owl, because the owl stretches his leg with a small leather bag where he puts in some of the strange money.  
  
Again something that should look really weird to me, but seems really logical.  
  
I look at the headband in my hand.  
  
'How do they know of my powers?' I ask him suddenly, neglecting his warning.  
  
He turns with a startled look on his face.  
  
"I'm still not used to be talked to like that." He says. "But we've been keeping an eye on you for a long time now. We knew you were being treated badly, but what he's done to you this summer was really unexpected. We decided we couldn't take your chance to get away from there from you and accepted you even though you replied too late."  
  
He suddenly turn again and he lets his shoulders drop.  
  
"I'm sorry." I hear him say softly.  
  
Huh?  
  
He's sorry?  
  
About what?  
  
I really don't understand.  
  
'Eh… it's alright.' I say.  
  
"When you put on that headband, you have to talk normally again." He says quickly.  
  
Probably to change subject.  
  
I start. 'Talk? I have never talked. Well, maybe once, but I have forgotten how.'  
  
"Never talked?" He turns again and looks at me. "You mean you've always… communicated like this?"  
  
I nod.  
  
"Merlin." He whispers. "Well, then I'm afraid you have to learn."  
  
I look at him concerned.   
  
We'll see.  
  
I really don't know how to talk, let alone how to learn.  
  
But I see that he's holding something back, he's not telling me everything.  
  
"I think you'll learn quicker if you put on that headband. Then you can't talk how you do now and have to find an other way of letting me know what you want."  
  
I look at the headband again and take a deep breath.  
  
Here goes, and I put on the headband.  
  
Suddenly everything goes silent in my head.  
  
I hear nothing, only the footsteps of the man as he comes and sits with me again.  
  
"And?" He asks while trying to look in my eyes.  
  
It's so quiet in my mind that I dare to look back in his black, tunnel-like eyes.  
  
I don't 'feel' his thought.  
  
Don't 'feel' the presence of little animals hardly anybody sees and I don't 'feel' the people downstairs anymore.   
  
Everything is silent and only now I realise how busy it always has been in my head.  
  
How tired I always got of all those thoughts.  
  
The man sees the confused look on my face.  
  
"It will take a while before you're used to it."  
  
He's wrong.  
  
I can get used to this very quickly.  
  
How peaceful!  
  
He turns to his large trunk and begins searching it.  
  
"I take it you're hungry?" He says.  
  
I try to respond, but I don't know how.  
  
The thoughts won't leave my head any more, and I don't now how to use my voice, so when he turns I nod fiercely.  
  
"I thought so."  
  
He takes a bundle of clothes out of the trunk.  
  
"Do you feel well enough to walk? I think you do, don't you?" He says examining me with his eyes. "My potion should have been enough."  
  
He is right.  
  
I feel well enough to do a wild dance, so I nod and throw back the covers to be able to get up.  
  
I see I'm still wearing my old clothes.  
  
I must smell very badly.  
  
A little unstable I try to stand.  
  
He puts the bundle of clothes on the bed and says: "I'll be downstairs to order some food. You can clean up over there." He points to the sink in the corner of the room.  
  
"I'll come and see if you're ready in about ten minutes."  
  
He takes a pair of shoes out of the trunk.  
  
"I hope the clothes fit." He says just before he closes the door behind him.  
  
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please please please review if some-one is reading this! 


	3. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. There.

Eleanor Larathiel - Eh... a bit quicker? I send you this just last night! A bit quicker, you can say that again. :) Nice. I would love to bèta-read 'Weg'. I'll get to be the first who reads it :). I will be patient. I have to be. I can't force people to read this. Switching to dutch now. Er is heel veel wat je gewoon niet letterlijk kunt vertalen van Engels naar nederlands en andersom. Daarom is het fijn om iemand te laten bèta lezen. En dat stukje: I slip into the black dress." "I saw my reflection in the mirror.". Dat moet gewoon "I see my reflection in the mirror' zijn. foutje. Komt inderdaad omdat Rowling haar verhaal in de past schrijft en ik in de presence. En het stukje dat ik heb toegevoegd... is dat stukje met de zilveren deuren. Was ik vergeten in het nederlands. :) You like it? Ik heb msn, maar ik ben niet vaak on-line. Maar misschien gaat dat nog veranderen... :) Bedankt voor het snelle bèta lezen! PS. Ik vind het niet erg dat je mijn naam verkeerd hebt gespeld, moest het alleen ff zeggen.

duj - Thanks for your compliments :) Thanks for reading :) Thanks for reviewing :)

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CHAPTER THREE   
Diagon Alley

---------------------------- --------------------------- ------------------------  
  
Caressing the beautiful fabric of the dress, I think of the man who bought me the dress, even while he doesn't know me. Wait, I don't even know his name. That's kind of rude of me. I really should ask him his name later, when he comes back.  
  
It's quiet in my head. A bit too quiet, seeing how I will have to change clothes now, makes me feel nervous, I can't 'feel' anyone. What if someone just came bursting in? Thankfully there's a lock on this door. I quickly lock the door and look around the room again.   
  
It's not big. Just big enough for one person. Where did 'the man' sleep?   
  
I touch the dark dress again. It's so beautiful. And I am allowed to wear that! Trusting the lock on the door I undress and begin washing myself. Washing feels so good after all this time. I was really filthy. Thankfully the bruises on my body are slowly fading.   
  
Besides a dress, the man had also bought me shoes and underwear. I toss my own ragged underwear in a corner of the room and put on the new, clean underwear and green tights. They match my headband beautifully. I slip into the black dress. I see my reflection in the mirror and smile pleased, it fits me and it suites me beautifully.   
  
Now I can take a good look at myself. I'm not that unattractive. Well, I don't think I am. I only have to comb my hair, and everything would look perfect. That will be quite a job. My long, curly hair doesn't like to be combed. Without a second thought I take of my headband. At once thousands thoughts invade my mind and I have to grasp on to the sink to prevent me from falling. My God! No wonder I always had such a headache. It never had that force, but I think it's because of the headband. After having it on for a while, the thoughts are unbearable when I don't wear it. Quickly I put it on again. Well, I guess I have to comb my hair while wearing it. It went better then I would have thought. I seat myself on the bed and try on my beautiful black polished shoes. They fit as if they were specially made for me.   
  
I look in the mirror again and almost don't recognise myself. Before me I see quite a good looking ten year old. I smile and see for the first time that I have dimpled cheeks. I look cute! Quickly I stop smiling. I don't want to look cute!   
  
A nock on the door startles me. That has to be 'the man' so I quickly unlock the door.   
  
"Are you ready?" He asks. "Breakfast is ready."  
  
He eyes me. "I see the clothes fit."  
  
I nod and it occurs to me again how serious the man looks. He avoids my gaze. For some reason he seems to be wearing a sad expression on his face. But I can't be sure of it because I'm wearing the headband. Without it, I would know in an instant why.  
  
"Are you coming?" He asks, but I stay put.  
  
"Well?"   
  
I step up to him and offer him my hand. I hope he understands I'm trying to make acquaintance, that I would like to know his name. He looks at my hand. His eyes wander to my face and I see it begins to dawn on him and shakes my hand.   
  
"Pleasure to meet you, Ramona Moonlight. My name is Severus Snape," he says in an official tone. "Professor of Potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, head of Slytherin House."  
  
I startle. He's a teacher? I didn't expect that. He doesn't look like a teacher. Well, the sort of teacher I would expect. But if he says so, well then he is. I smile. He turns his head quickly as if avoiding me and leaves the room. A little disappointed I follow him and lock the door behind me. I hurry after him and while doing so, all kind of questions rush through my mind. 'What is Hogwarts?' and, 'What does he mean with 'House'?' We arrive downstairs in a dingy tab-room. It's crowded with strangely dressed people with pointy hats and long cloaks. I see the bald bartender looking our way and putting away his dishes. He walks towards us with some cautioun and I can't blame him. Severus looks extremely dangerous. Does he know he always had that menacing look on his face? Maybe it's his 'neutral' look. With a toothless smile the bartender welcomes me.  
  
"Welcome at the Leaky Cauldron, miss."  
  
I give him a small smile and it seems enough, because he shifts his attention to Severus.  
  
"Is everything in order, sir?" He asks.  
  
"We're hungry." He answers with his dark voice. "Do you have our meals ready?"  
  
The bartender nods and beckons us to follow him to a small table in a quiet corner of the pub. I examine the strange looking people who are looking back just as curious. Quickly I look at the ground.  
  
"The young lady is starting Hogwarts this year?" The bartender asks as we sit down.  
  
I nod shyly.  
  
"Then you're in the same year as young Harry Potter. Maybe you'll be able to talk to him." The bartender continues as if it should be a great honour for me to talk to this Harry Potter guy. But who is Harry Potter?  
  
"Harry Potters' comings and goings do not interests us." Severus says icely.  
  
While saying Harry Potters name he got a strange look in his eyes.  
  
"Excuse me." The bartender says shocked and I'm getting more and more curious about this Harry Potter. I look at Severus with an asking look. He looks at me, but goes on talking with the bartender.  
  
"Actually we are very hungry, aren't we Ramona?" He asks and I nod eagerly. A loud grumble was coming from my stomach. After nodding the bartender leaves for getting our dinner.  
  
"You want to know about Harry Potter?" Severus asks.  
  
I nod.  
  
"First thing you need to know is that not all wizards are good people. There are wizards who use their powers to hurt people. Twenty years ago one of those 'bad' wizards went to search for followers. Sadly he got them. Many of them were people searching for more power also, others joined him because they were scared of him and others… for more personal reasons."  
  
Is it just me or is Severus looking more and more miserable?  
  
"This wizard killed everyone who stood in his way to more power. He killed the parents of Harry Potter, but when he turned his wand to Harry, the spell reflected and he disappeared. Harry is the one who 'saved' us from the Dark Lord. People act as if the boy has special powers or something. But if you ask me, he killed him with pure luck, nothing more, nothing less." Severus began to sound more and more sarcastic. I have the feeling he doesn't like this Harry Potter much. The bartender returns with our food. The hot chicken soup smells delicious, but I want to hear more about this Dark Lord so I keep looking at Severus intensely. However, he begins eating his soup and I think I'm not going to hear more about the subject. Severus notices my stare and sighs.   
  
"I'm sorry. I know I'm not helping one bit. I don't know why Dumbledore asked me to pick you up." He looks at his bowl of soup. Again I have the feeling he's lying or holding something back. There is more, much more than he's telling me. But, I respect his privacy. I let him keep his secrets.  
  
"I can't stay much longer." He suddenly says.  
  
I startle.  
  
He might not be the most talkative person, but I like having him around. He makes me feel safe.  
  
"I have to return to Hogwarts. I have to prepare my lessons. We will go to Gringott's to get you some money so you can buy your school supplies tomorrow. It's too late to do that now."   
  
He starts eating again. Leaving me with more questions. What's Gringott's? Who's money?  
  
He sees me looking again and lays down his spoon.  
  
"Your mother has left you some money. In the wizarding bank, Gringott's." He says curtly and starts eating again.  
  
I start eating too, uncertainly. What he said keeps swirling through my mind. My mother left me some money. My mother. Who was she? What kind of person was she? How was she… killed? I don't even know her name. Sometimes it's like I remember things. I was one year when they took me to the orphanage after all. I have to had spend my first year with her.  
  
"Are you coming?" Severus says pulling me out of my thoughts.   
  
He helps me into a new cloak. A beautiful green one. It's beginning to be my favourite colour. Still thinking about my mother I follow him through a door in the back of the pub. We're standing in a small, walled courtyard. Severus takes out a stick – is that a wand? – and taps the wall opposite three times. To my amazement a small hole appears and gets wider and wider. Until it's big enough to let us through to a cobbled street, which twists and turns out of sight. The little shops look like they've come straight out of a storybook. During the day the streets should be packed full of people, but now it's really quiet. Quite eerie.  
  
"This is called Diagon Alley." Severus says as we walk. The streetlights spread their serene glow while I look at the shops. Severus is giving me instructions to where I should go to buy certain supplies. No, he's helping me remembering it, as if I already know all this, but I have forgotten it.  
  
"You can buy your cauldron over there." He says pointing at a shop nearby. 'Cauldrons – All Size – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self Stirring – Collapsible' says a sign.  
  
"And maybe you'd like to buy an owl. They are really useful creatures. You can buy them at Eeylops Owl Emporium."   
  
I can hear the owls screech. Too bad I can't see them for the shutters are closed.  
  
"You can buy your robes at Madam Malkin's shop and your books at Flourish and Blotts. Please make sure you buy at the Apothecary some extra black beetle eyes. They never put enough of them with the basic potions ingredients."  
  
Black beetle eyes. I'll try to remember that.  
  
"As for your wand you should go to Ollivanders."  
  
I can't see the shop anywhere, but Severus doesn't spend any more attention to it.   
  
"Here we are."   
  
We're standing in front of a snowy white marble building. The burnished bronze doors are still open, while all the other shops are closed, and a strange looking creature is standing guard next to it. What kind of creature could that be. It was a small being, about a head shorter than me with a swarthy, clever face and a pointed beard. He got intelligent eyes pointed at us and says with accusing eyes: "We're about to close. You're just in time to get your money."  
  
"Ramona? Come, you've heard what he said. They're going to close soon." Severus says.   
  
I had been staring at the creature and suddenly a word pops up in my mind. Goblin. It's a goblin. I quickly catch up with Severus.  
  
"That are Goblins, Ramona." He says.  
  
Obviously he had seen me staring at the Goblin and I feel myself turning red and concentrate on my surroundings instead. Quietly I follow Severus through a pair of silver doors, with words engraved upon them:   
  
'Enter, stranger, but take heed  
  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
  
A treasure that was never yours,  
  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
  
Of finding more than treasure there.'  
  
Severus sees me reading.  
  
"Yes, many things guard the vaults and never has someone succeeded to steel something from Gringotts." Severus says with a concerned look on his face. "But two months ago someone did enter a vault that wasn't his and got away. Strangely he didn't take anything."  
  
He looks at the words in the silver door deep in thought. I pull on his robe to let him snap out of it. He looks at me startled, but composes himself again and we walk further through the doors, into a big Hall, past a long table with Goblins weighing and measuring large diamonds and rubies, to a Goblin with his bureau on a platform. The Goblin looks at us disturbed.  
  
"We would like to withdraw money from the vault of Miranda Moonlight."  
  
Miranda Moonlight? Who's that? Is that my mother? My head spins.  
  
"Miranda Moonlight died ten years ago." The Goblin says sourly.  
  
"It's for her only daughter, Ramona Moonlight."  
  
The Goblin bows over his desk to get a better look at me and Severus takes a step sideways.  
  
"I see what you mean." The Goblin says after a long look that made me feel uneasy. "Do you have the key?"  
  
It's like the question is meant for me and Severus at one time, who looks inside his pockets.  
  
"Starlight." A voice sounds and I start.  
  
A put a hand over my mouth, that voice was mine!  
  
I try again, but the harder I try, the less sound comes from my mouth.  
  
Nothing more came out of my mouth.  
  
Severus looks at me astonished and the Goblin a bit too self-assured.  
  
"Yes, that's right. That's the password." The Goblin says and I don't get it. "You see, only a real person with a blood-link to Miranda Moonlight can say the password and has to say it when it's asked. But only she can say it. You can try it, professor Snape, but you'll find it impossible to say it in here. This proves you ARE the daughter of Miranda Moonlight. Welcome back, miss Moonlight."  
  
Severus still looks at me dumbfounded. He's holding an envelope in his hand. I look in his eyes and he snaps out of his confusion.  
  
"No wonder this envelope says to go specifically to you." He says, giving the Goblin the envelope.  
  
The Goblin opens it and studies the small key.  
  
"This seems to be in order. Griphook!"  
  
Another goblin came and took the key.  
  
"Please follow me." The other says and I follow him holding the key close to my chest. Miranda Moonlight. So that was really the name of my mother. I look at Severus and make a promise to myself. Whenever I'm able to speak, I will ask him about her. He seems to know more than he lets go. The Goblin holds the door open for us and we come into a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the little railway tracks on the floor. We all climb into the cart and we shoot forwards. The cold wind blows stinging in my eyes and I close them. I hope everything goes well, because the goblin isn't steering. I press myself against Severus and to my surprise he wraps his arms around me.  
  
Finally the cart stops.  
  
"Vault 961." Griphook says and get out of the cart. "Key please." I'm trembling all over but I'm able to give him the key without falling over.  
  
Griphook opens the vault and when I enter, torches flamed up and showed me a fairly big room. Astonished I looked around. I have no idea how much one of these golden coins are worth, but I sure do know what lies here is a fortune!  
  
Everywhere I look there are piles of golden and silver coins, heaps of small bronze coins and I even see big diamonds.  
  
"Yes, your mother came from a rich family." I hear Severus say behind me.  
  
I turn around to look at him with questions in my eyes.  
  
"Your mother came from a family with pure blood. That's what they call it when nobody from the family had children with a non-magical person. Her blood-line was one of the most purest and powerful. That's why…" He quickly stops and looks away.  
  
That's why? That's why what? Why? I'm burning with curiosity, but the look in his eyes stop me from grabbing him by his cloak to beg him to tell more. He looks so… so sad. I can't find another word for it. That makes me turn around again to my money. My money! If I had known this all these years I've spend at the orphanage! Severus comes standing next to me.  
  
"These are Galleons." He explains "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle."  
  
He sees I'm still overwhelmed by all this riches and the information about my mother to get the money and picks up a small leather bag from the corner of the vault. He puts in some money and we exit again.  
  
We get in the scary cart again and before I even can process all the information we're back outside again.  
  
I have a lot to think about. My mother was called Miranda Moonlight and came from a blood-line with the most powerful wizards. That's why…  
  
I don't know more and the 'that's why' keeps haunting through my mind even after I crawled into my big, comfy bed.  
  
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please review everybody!


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